Publication
Imprint: Somerville, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2013, ©2011. Responsibility: by Patrick Ness ; inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd ; illustrations by Jim Kay. OCLC Number: 690584334. Physical: Text : 1 volume : 205 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm.
Call number
YA-Fic / Ness
ISBN
9780763660659
Original publication date
2011-05-05
Collections
CSS Library Notes
Description: "At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting - he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd - whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself - Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined"-- Provided by publisher.
FY2019 /
FY2019 /
Physical description
205 p.; 21 cm
Awards
Soaring Eagle Book Award (Nominee — 2014)
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award (Nominee — 2016)
LA Times Book Prize (Finalist — Young Adult Literature — 2011)
Georgia Children's Book Award (Finalist — Grades 6-8 — 2014)
Kentucky Bluegrass Award (Nominee — Grades 6-8 — 2013)
Bram Stoker Award (Nominee — Young Adult Novel — 2011)
Green Mountain Book Award (Nominee — 2014)
British Book Award (Winner — Children's Book — 2011)
Thumbs Up! Award (Honor — 2012)
Oregon Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — 2014)
Lincoln Award: Illinois Teen Readers' Choice Award (Nominee — 2015)
The Children's Book Award (Winner — Overall — 2012)
Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing (Nominee — 2012)
NCSLMA Battle of the Books (Middle School — 2020)
Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration (Nominee — 2012)
UKLA Book Award (Shortlist — 2012)
Westchester Fiction Award (Winner — 2012)
The Kitschies (Winner — 2011)
Isinglass Teen Read Award (Nominee — 2013)
Rhode Island Teen Book Award (Nominee — 2014)
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (Winner — 2012)
Sakura Medal (Middle School — 2014)
Prix Imaginales (2013)
Europese Literatuurprijs (Longlist — 2014)
Locus Recommended Reading (Young Adult Book — 2011)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Top Ten — 2012)
CCBC Choices (2012)
Notable Children's Book (2012)
Nerdy Book Award (Young Adult Literature — 2011)
OYAN Book Rave (2012)
Texas Lone Star Reading List (2012)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Kids (Fiction for Older Readers — 2011)
Media reviews
"... it’s powerful medicine: a story that lodges in your bones and stays there."
“A Monster Calls” is a gift from a generous storyteller and a potent piece of art.
The power of this beautiful and achingly sad story for readers over the age of 12 derives not only from Mr. Ness's capacity to write heart-stopping prose but also from Jim Kay's stunning black-ink illustrations. There are images in these pages so wild and ragged that they feel dragged by their
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roots from the deepest realms of myth. Show Less
It's also an extraordinarily beautiful book. Kay's menacing, energetic illustrations and the way they interact with the text, together with the lavish production values, make it a joy just to hold in your hand. If I have one quibble, it is with a line in the introduction where Ness says the point
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of a story is to "make trouble". It seems to me he has done the opposite here. He's produced something deeply comforting and glowing with – to use a Siobhan Dowd word – solace. The point of art and love is to try to shortchange that grim tax collector, death. Ness, Dowd, Kay and Walker have rifled death's pockets and pulled out a treasure. Death, it seems, is no disqualification. Show Less
Description
Thirteen-year-old Conor awakens one night to find a monster outside his bedroom window, but not the one from the recurring nightmare that began when his mother became ill--an ancient, wild creature that wants him to face truth and loss.
Language
Original language
English
Similar in this library
User reviews
LibraryThing member EBT1002
This novel written for young adults (so NOT my favorite genre!) is, to quote my friend Megan, heart-wrenching goodness. Ness beautifully explores the grief of a young teenage boy losing his mother to cancer. But this book provides us with so much more. Through the voice of the monster, who visits
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young Conor routinely at 12:07am, Ness teaches the reader about some of the most basic longings of young (and not so young) adult humans: the need to be truly seen, and the gut-wrenching paradox that love and attachment are inextricably woven with pain and rage into one lovely cloth. These are themes that I have seen so dramatically explored in my work as a psychologist and, indeed, explored repeatedly in my own introspection. This novel is psychology applied with care and creativity. Show Less
LibraryThing member Whisper1
Yes, this is a dark tale and it took some time to get with the flow and to understand that the monster who calls and visits Connor is truly the dark side of a little boy who is in the throes of grief and simply cannot process the pain and his feelings of loss, anger and rejection. Yet, amid the
Bullied in school, unable to stand up for himself or his feelings, Connor deeply represses his emotions. Denying that his mother is close to death and that cancer is rapidly taking her life away, Connor trudges along in the hope that somehow there will be a miracle cure and all will be well.
An absentee father, a grandmother with whom he cannot relate, and teachers who are over solicitous but well intended, Connor has no outlet save for a tree in his yard that turns into a black, nightmare in the wee hours.
As the tree/monster brings tales to Connor, he learns lessons that require him to examine his emotions and thoughts.
Highly recommended. If you have time, please check the reviews written about this book. You won't be disappointed in the reviews or the book!
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darkness of the story, I found that I was enthralled and engaged in the beauty of it all.Bullied in school, unable to stand up for himself or his feelings, Connor deeply represses his emotions. Denying that his mother is close to death and that cancer is rapidly taking her life away, Connor trudges along in the hope that somehow there will be a miracle cure and all will be well.
An absentee father, a grandmother with whom he cannot relate, and teachers who are over solicitous but well intended, Connor has no outlet save for a tree in his yard that turns into a black, nightmare in the wee hours.
As the tree/monster brings tales to Connor, he learns lessons that require him to examine his emotions and thoughts.
Highly recommended. If you have time, please check the reviews written about this book. You won't be disappointed in the reviews or the book!
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
I don’t believe that I have the words to do justice to A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. This moving, heart-breaking and incredibly brave book left me in a puddle of tears, but truly grateful that I was pointed in it’s direction. This book deals with the sensitive subject of facing up to the
An original idea by Siobhan Dowd that was developed by Patrick Ness after her death, this allegorical book captures the readers emotions and holds one spellbound. Enhanced by illustrations by Jim Kay, this story of grief, loss and love is truly unforgettable and one I would highly recommend.
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reality of death and caring enough about someone to have the courage to let go. Although a quick YA read, I would suggest it’s most suitable for mature elevens and up and, I also think it would be an excellent idea to have a mentor or at least some on-going discussion about the storyline as well. An original idea by Siobhan Dowd that was developed by Patrick Ness after her death, this allegorical book captures the readers emotions and holds one spellbound. Enhanced by illustrations by Jim Kay, this story of grief, loss and love is truly unforgettable and one I would highly recommend.
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LibraryThing member waclements7
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, Inspired from an idea by Siobhan Dowd, Illustrations by Jim Kay
Candlewick Press; 2011
I am not exactly sure how to write a review on this book. When I first saw that it had illustrations, the first thing I thought of was The Inventions of Hugo Cabret, which this most
The main character is a boy, Conor, whose mother has cancer and has been through several rounds of treatments, and what it's like for him while she undergoes them. He has a recurring nightmare, and a giant yew tree comes to life which normally remains in a stationary form outside their house. The tree comes at a specific time, and tells him three stories, and tells Conor that he will have to tell the tree the fourth one, Conor's Story. I'll just say that the tree's stories surprised me with their endings.
Many little things in the book happened that I wasn't expecting. Conor and his grandmother's relationship is a prickly one (his mother's mom), but she's who they have in common. Conor's bullied at school. His best friend, Lily, told other kids his mom had cancer and now he's alone at school. So he goes from this nightmarish existence at school to a nightmarish existence at home, only the one at home is more permanent.
I did cry at the end--more like the last thirty or so pages, I suppose. There's obviously a message in the book, and I've been trying to figure out how overt or subtle it is. I know, it seems like one of those things that would be obvious. But the book isn't black and white (well, literally it is) in terms of its definitions of things, verging more into shades of grey (don't even dare ask how many or you deserve a virtual bop on the head)---issues people of any age feel guilty about and beat themselves up over because they don't fit neatly into one category or the other.
On reflection, in my opinion, the messages are headed (on an rpm type thing you'd find in a car--at least an "old" car that still has an actual one with a needle and isn't digital) more toward the subtle edge. The Yew Tree's stories and the ending--what the tree wanted to hear from Conor in his story, weren't quite what I expected, but the tree's reasoning was perfectly sound.
After finishing this book, I immediately ordered a copy for myself. I don't know what Siobhan Dowd would have wanted. She had written the beginning and had the basic idea for the story, she had talked to her editor about A Monster Calls. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and died at 47 before she could write the book. That in itself makes me want to cry. That's only four year older than I am. I think it was done very well. But, maybe that in itself is a message to all of us. If there's something we dream of doing or trying, be it writing, or learning calligraphy, learning to knit, learn how to make jewelry--DO IT.
I would highly recommend this book--not force it on anyone, maybe just leave it lying around for the Conors around there. And even if you're not, it's not a book you're likely to forget soon.
Candlewick Press; 2011
I am not exactly sure how to write a review on this book. When I first saw that it had illustrations, the first thing I thought of was The Inventions of Hugo Cabret, which this most
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definitely is not. They are rougher, sketchier, darker and undefined, and capture the mood of the story completely. I wasn't sure what to expect. I have it out from the library and have to turn it in today, but the library isn't open yet and I have to go to the bank and they aren't open yet either so I decided to try to read it (I've been extremely occupied with other things and have been neglecting my library books) this morning. I am so glad that I did. It's not an enormously time-consuming book, despite it's thickness.The main character is a boy, Conor, whose mother has cancer and has been through several rounds of treatments, and what it's like for him while she undergoes them. He has a recurring nightmare, and a giant yew tree comes to life which normally remains in a stationary form outside their house. The tree comes at a specific time, and tells him three stories, and tells Conor that he will have to tell the tree the fourth one, Conor's Story. I'll just say that the tree's stories surprised me with their endings.
Many little things in the book happened that I wasn't expecting. Conor and his grandmother's relationship is a prickly one (his mother's mom), but she's who they have in common. Conor's bullied at school. His best friend, Lily, told other kids his mom had cancer and now he's alone at school. So he goes from this nightmarish existence at school to a nightmarish existence at home, only the one at home is more permanent.
I did cry at the end--more like the last thirty or so pages, I suppose. There's obviously a message in the book, and I've been trying to figure out how overt or subtle it is. I know, it seems like one of those things that would be obvious. But the book isn't black and white (well, literally it is) in terms of its definitions of things, verging more into shades of grey (don't even dare ask how many or you deserve a virtual bop on the head)---issues people of any age feel guilty about and beat themselves up over because they don't fit neatly into one category or the other.
On reflection, in my opinion, the messages are headed (on an rpm type thing you'd find in a car--at least an "old" car that still has an actual one with a needle and isn't digital) more toward the subtle edge. The Yew Tree's stories and the ending--what the tree wanted to hear from Conor in his story, weren't quite what I expected, but the tree's reasoning was perfectly sound.
After finishing this book, I immediately ordered a copy for myself. I don't know what Siobhan Dowd would have wanted. She had written the beginning and had the basic idea for the story, she had talked to her editor about A Monster Calls. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and died at 47 before she could write the book. That in itself makes me want to cry. That's only four year older than I am. I think it was done very well. But, maybe that in itself is a message to all of us. If there's something we dream of doing or trying, be it writing, or learning calligraphy, learning to knit, learn how to make jewelry--DO IT.
I would highly recommend this book--not force it on anyone, maybe just leave it lying around for the Conors around there. And even if you're not, it's not a book you're likely to forget soon.
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LibraryThing member msf59
“The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do.”
When we were growing up, I think we all thought about monsters. The ones in the shadows and the ones under our bed. Conor is thirteen and no exception. One night, he spots one outside his bedroom window. This is no ordinary monster. It has
This is a deeply heartfelt story, dealing with grief and loss. How a boy, already dealing with adolescence, bullies at school and divorced parents, has to come to terms with even bigger issues. It’s a beautiful tale, with a refreshing lack of goopy sentimentality. I can not recommend it higher but please keep a tissue box nearby. Yes, you will need it.
When we were growing up, I think we all thought about monsters. The ones in the shadows and the ones under our bed. Conor is thirteen and no exception. One night, he spots one outside his bedroom window. This is no ordinary monster. It has
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a special purpose. Conor is having a very difficult time in his life. His mother, the light of his life, is suffering from a serious illness.This is a deeply heartfelt story, dealing with grief and loss. How a boy, already dealing with adolescence, bullies at school and divorced parents, has to come to terms with even bigger issues. It’s a beautiful tale, with a refreshing lack of goopy sentimentality. I can not recommend it higher but please keep a tissue box nearby. Yes, you will need it.
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LibraryThing member clfisha
The use of fantasy to explore hard hitting issues is always interesting and this book proves to be a fantastic, emotional and true look at losing a parent at a young age, in this case to cancer.
The story follows 13 yr old Conor, who is fighting the reality of his mother's terminal cancer. He is
It's all handled so well, from adult to child the characters are fully human, the situations fit, even the fairy tales told are modernised and twisted to tell a more real darker truth when nothing is black and white and no one is perfect. The artwork is beautiful and its scratchy, dark images instantly create atmosphere required. Ness's wonderful prose is carefully set amongst the art, meshing words and art seamlessly create something wonderful.
Highly recommended to everyone, depending on your mood of course; it's a beautiful but tragic tale.
The story follows 13 yr old Conor, who is fighting the reality of his mother's terminal cancer. He is
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bullied at school. his absent father cares more about his new life in the states, his grandmother appears as an austere, lifeless influence and so the monster comes calling, at night to offer him a bargain, to find the truth. It's all handled so well, from adult to child the characters are fully human, the situations fit, even the fairy tales told are modernised and twisted to tell a more real darker truth when nothing is black and white and no one is perfect. The artwork is beautiful and its scratchy, dark images instantly create atmosphere required. Ness's wonderful prose is carefully set amongst the art, meshing words and art seamlessly create something wonderful.
Highly recommended to everyone, depending on your mood of course; it's a beautiful but tragic tale.
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LibraryThing member edgeworth
Siobhan Dowd came up with the idea for this novel before dying of breast cancer, and passed it on to the children’s author Patrick Ness. In the introduction, Ness explains that he didn’t want the book to become a hamfisted attempt to imitate Dowd, and so used it as a seed for other ideas,
A Monster Calls follows Connor O’Malley, a boy growing up somewhere in the British Isles, who is watching his mother slowly die of cancer. Bullied at school, treated with unbearable sympathy by his teachers and peers, and estranged from his father who lives in America with a new wife and child, he has withdrawn into a private, alienated world of grief and anger. One night, at seven minutes past midnight, a monster visits Connor. It demands to know “the truth” from him, and begins to visit him regularly, telling him a series of stories. These stories are not the simple fairytales one would expect from stories with their structure. They are not fables about good and evil, but morally complex tales involving characters faced with difficult decisions. Connor dreads the passing of the stories, because the monster has told him that at the end of the telling, he expects to hear a story from Connor – by which he means “the truth.”
This is clearly, from the outset, an allegorical tale – but it’s not the allegory I expected, and it’s a deeper book than I thought it would be. It’s enhanced with dark, black-and-white, scratchy illustrations by Jim Kay, which are absolutely vital to the success of the book. They melt in and out of the text itself, lending a disturbing atmosphere that would be absent otherwise. The monster itself – a huge, bristling, spiked creature that spawns from a yew tree and is only ever seen in darkness – is foreboding and ominous, the drawcard of the book, just as Frank the rabbit is the drawcard of “Donnie Darko” or the Pale Man is the drawcard of “Pan’s Lanbyrinth.” They’re creepy, creative and fantastic, but not load-bearing. They’re surrounded by well-crafted stories that do them justice.
A Monster Calls is a perfect example of a book in that elusive category: children’s/YA books that can be enjoyed equally by adults. With the sparse text and frequent illustrations, it can be read in a couple of sittings – although ideally you’d read it on a dark and stormy night in a rural house in Ireland, not on a 38 degree day on the Sydenham line, like I did. It’s also, thanks to Jim Kay’s illustrations, one of those books that’s a pleasure to regard simply as an object. A Monster Calls is a dark, sad and profound story about coping with grief which I can recommend to anyone.
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writing his own book with the basic outline of what Dowd had given him. We’ll never know what Dowd would have written, but judging from the actual product, Ness made a good decision.A Monster Calls follows Connor O’Malley, a boy growing up somewhere in the British Isles, who is watching his mother slowly die of cancer. Bullied at school, treated with unbearable sympathy by his teachers and peers, and estranged from his father who lives in America with a new wife and child, he has withdrawn into a private, alienated world of grief and anger. One night, at seven minutes past midnight, a monster visits Connor. It demands to know “the truth” from him, and begins to visit him regularly, telling him a series of stories. These stories are not the simple fairytales one would expect from stories with their structure. They are not fables about good and evil, but morally complex tales involving characters faced with difficult decisions. Connor dreads the passing of the stories, because the monster has told him that at the end of the telling, he expects to hear a story from Connor – by which he means “the truth.”
This is clearly, from the outset, an allegorical tale – but it’s not the allegory I expected, and it’s a deeper book than I thought it would be. It’s enhanced with dark, black-and-white, scratchy illustrations by Jim Kay, which are absolutely vital to the success of the book. They melt in and out of the text itself, lending a disturbing atmosphere that would be absent otherwise. The monster itself – a huge, bristling, spiked creature that spawns from a yew tree and is only ever seen in darkness – is foreboding and ominous, the drawcard of the book, just as Frank the rabbit is the drawcard of “Donnie Darko” or the Pale Man is the drawcard of “Pan’s Lanbyrinth.” They’re creepy, creative and fantastic, but not load-bearing. They’re surrounded by well-crafted stories that do them justice.
A Monster Calls is a perfect example of a book in that elusive category: children’s/YA books that can be enjoyed equally by adults. With the sparse text and frequent illustrations, it can be read in a couple of sittings – although ideally you’d read it on a dark and stormy night in a rural house in Ireland, not on a 38 degree day on the Sydenham line, like I did. It’s also, thanks to Jim Kay’s illustrations, one of those books that’s a pleasure to regard simply as an object. A Monster Calls is a dark, sad and profound story about coping with grief which I can recommend to anyone.
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LibraryThing member strongpieces
The best sort of YA novel is one that isn't meant just for the young demographic. It's the sort that adults can read and still relate to as well, because there's no emotion so profound and so shared as that of loss and grief, and the struggle to come to terms with it. There are so many different
The book itself is boasts some absolutely gorgeous art, dark sketches and scribbles, moody, evocative, scary and as much a part of Conor's story as the words themselves are.
I read A Monster Calls in a single sitting because I simply couldn't put it down, too engrossed in the monster, in Connor and his story, and the stories told within. This book is so good. I want to shove it in everyone's face and tell them to read as if their lives depended on it. Because this is what a good book is, to me. It's the combination of story, character, emotion so deep anyone can relate.
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layers to this book, though what's on the surface is just as important and entertaining as what lurks below it.The book itself is boasts some absolutely gorgeous art, dark sketches and scribbles, moody, evocative, scary and as much a part of Conor's story as the words themselves are.
I read A Monster Calls in a single sitting because I simply couldn't put it down, too engrossed in the monster, in Connor and his story, and the stories told within. This book is so good. I want to shove it in everyone's face and tell them to read as if their lives depended on it. Because this is what a good book is, to me. It's the combination of story, character, emotion so deep anyone can relate.
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LibraryThing member elenchus
The story uses myth and elements of magical realism to address emotional life, and not merely psychological life. As a result, the story has heft and is utterly realistic, if not always naturalistic. It veers toward the sappy, though I think this is a matter of perspective. When a person is not
Kay's illustrations are dense, and also present as either on the periphery (detailed but uncentered) or as if we've noticed something just as it turns a corner, out of sight. Images take in a a huge expanse, say a house set far back in a landscape; or else they are in tight focus, floorboards and the edge of someone's foot. These heighten the tension, yes, but also reinforce the story's sense of sensory overload.
Another book that could not possibly meet my expectations, something having nothing whatever to do with the book itself. And yet, it did not fail them, either. That is perhaps the most realistic hope for these situations, so I'm well enough pleased.
//
I understand a film is in production. I do not see that a film treatment does anything for the story, though of course it will reach a different audience.
Uncanny, but starkly factual: I finished the book, at one sitting, came to the PC and checked the time. 12:07 (actually, 00:07). Yes.
Regrettably, mine is an American English edition: "soccer field", for example, though unaccountably a few other Britishisms remain ("chemist").
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experiencing directly the emotional intensity of a situation, depiction and description can come across as overly sentimental. For the person immersed in the situation, its many layers, I suspect it's difficult to exaggerate or sentimentalise. I found that to be the case with Ness's story, and storytelling.Kay's illustrations are dense, and also present as either on the periphery (detailed but uncentered) or as if we've noticed something just as it turns a corner, out of sight. Images take in a a huge expanse, say a house set far back in a landscape; or else they are in tight focus, floorboards and the edge of someone's foot. These heighten the tension, yes, but also reinforce the story's sense of sensory overload.
Another book that could not possibly meet my expectations, something having nothing whatever to do with the book itself. And yet, it did not fail them, either. That is perhaps the most realistic hope for these situations, so I'm well enough pleased.
//
I understand a film is in production. I do not see that a film treatment does anything for the story, though of course it will reach a different audience.
Uncanny, but starkly factual: I finished the book, at one sitting, came to the PC and checked the time. 12:07 (actually, 00:07). Yes.
Regrettably, mine is an American English edition: "soccer field", for example, though unaccountably a few other Britishisms remain ("chemist").
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LibraryThing member marnanel
This is a book about how the real world isn't a struggle between good and evil, but a struggle between the power of nightmares and the power of story. A boy whose nightmare is a nightly terror is visited by a lesser nightmare which tells him stories. Together, the stories effect a change in his
The story was first conceived by Siobhan Dowd, who died from cancer before she could write it. Patrick Ness took her notes and spun a thing of beauty from them. My only two quibbles are minor: one of the three stories is hardly a story at all and would have been better fleshed out, and the description of yew needles as "leaves" was a little jarring.
This was the first book which won both the Carnegie (for the text) and the Greenaway (for the illustrations). I rarely say this, but don't read this in the ebook version unless you have no access to a paper copy: the text and illustrations work so well together that unless you're reading it on paper you're only getting three-quarters of the story. The reproductions of the illustrations in the ebook just aren't the same.
This book will infect your mind with helpful archetypes, and make you think more deeply. I urge you to read it.
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life and help him deal with the greater nightmare.The story was first conceived by Siobhan Dowd, who died from cancer before she could write it. Patrick Ness took her notes and spun a thing of beauty from them. My only two quibbles are minor: one of the three stories is hardly a story at all and would have been better fleshed out, and the description of yew needles as "leaves" was a little jarring.
This was the first book which won both the Carnegie (for the text) and the Greenaway (for the illustrations). I rarely say this, but don't read this in the ebook version unless you have no access to a paper copy: the text and illustrations work so well together that unless you're reading it on paper you're only getting three-quarters of the story. The reproductions of the illustrations in the ebook just aren't the same.
This book will infect your mind with helpful archetypes, and make you think more deeply. I urge you to read it.
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LibraryThing member jacindahinten
I wasn’t really sure what A Monster Calls was supposed to be about before I picked it up. I was interested because it was Patrick Ness and I’m a fan of his Chaos Walking Series. I also was interested because it was written based off an idea by Siobhan Dawd before her death…interesting! I’ve
I was reading and enjoying A Monsters Calls throughout all of the pages. I was curious from the start what the point was and how everything was going to come together. A Monster Calls overall is a very sad book. (I’m crying a bit right now and I finished the book a week ago). I’ve read some books that involve a teen in similar situations, but A Monster Calls seriously got to me. Do I have a reason why? I’m not sure. The lesson at the end of A Monster Calls is something I’ve thought about myself, but have never actually expressed out loud. Sorry for being so vague, but I think it’s necessary for anyone who decides to read A Monster Calls to have that vagueness.
How the authors, both of them I guess, go about telling this story and teaching the readers this lesson kept me engaged. The title of the book and the cover pretty much can tell you how the story somewhat goes…ahhhh! It’s just so good! The illustrations just added to A Monster Calls and gave a different “feel” to the book. I stopped and really looked at each and every individual drawing. I don’t read too many books with drawings (unless I’m reading them to my kids), but I did really enjoy the sketches in A Monster Calls.
My verdict: Read it! What A Monster Calls has taught me I will always remember!
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yet to read any books by Siobhan, but a couple of her books are on my list of books I want to eventually read. I was reading and enjoying A Monsters Calls throughout all of the pages. I was curious from the start what the point was and how everything was going to come together. A Monster Calls overall is a very sad book. (I’m crying a bit right now and I finished the book a week ago). I’ve read some books that involve a teen in similar situations, but A Monster Calls seriously got to me. Do I have a reason why? I’m not sure. The lesson at the end of A Monster Calls is something I’ve thought about myself, but have never actually expressed out loud. Sorry for being so vague, but I think it’s necessary for anyone who decides to read A Monster Calls to have that vagueness.
How the authors, both of them I guess, go about telling this story and teaching the readers this lesson kept me engaged. The title of the book and the cover pretty much can tell you how the story somewhat goes…ahhhh! It’s just so good! The illustrations just added to A Monster Calls and gave a different “feel” to the book. I stopped and really looked at each and every individual drawing. I don’t read too many books with drawings (unless I’m reading them to my kids), but I did really enjoy the sketches in A Monster Calls.
My verdict: Read it! What A Monster Calls has taught me I will always remember!
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LibraryThing member jenniferthomp75
One of the best books I've read in years.
Conor is having a tough time. His mom is really sick, he doesn't have many friends at school and, of course, there's the fact that a monster comes to visit him most every night.
He has one awful, horrible nightmare that doesn't seem to go away. Will the
Brilliantly written, devastating, tender, brave and honest, this book is a different kind of horror story. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Definitely a Printz contender.
Conor is having a tough time. His mom is really sick, he doesn't have many friends at school and, of course, there's the fact that a monster comes to visit him most every night.
He has one awful, horrible nightmare that doesn't seem to go away. Will the
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monster give him new nightmares with his demand of "the truth."Brilliantly written, devastating, tender, brave and honest, this book is a different kind of horror story. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Definitely a Printz contender.
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LibraryThing member koeniel
A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness
Conor had nightmares. Two different nightmares, actually. One was really scary, that he can't talk about it, while the other one was plain weird. Weird because there's a monster in it, who is not really scary, but also because it's never clear whether the monster was
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness is a book for teenagers, or young adults, in modern terms. It's one of the books my 11 year old stepdaughter's school asked her to read during the holiday. I read it because I was curious about what kind of books teenagers read these days. I was very surprised. I certainly did not read this kind of books when I was her age! Not that it's a too grown up book. The main character is a 13 year old boy, with normal teenage problems - like being bullied and trying to belong. But Conor O'Malley also had a bigger problem in life - his mum, the only person he lived with, had cancer and was struggling with the treatment. This heart-wrenching description of someone fighting cancer is not the only thing that makes the book feels so dark. It's all those nightmares too! I was surprised that teenagers these days read this kind of dark theme. But then again kids these days read Harry Potter, which has a very very dark atmosphere and is full of tragedies.
And that's one of the things that makes this book a powerful read. You develop a strong feeling for Conor and identify with him, you wondered with Conor about the monster and what purpose it served in his life. And you can feel your heartbeat anticipating how the story would end.
I'm not embarrased to say that I was captivated by this young adult book. Afterall, the Harry Potter series is one of my favourite books. I am glad that my stepdaughter gets to know this book. It's a good coming-of-age book, it shows how you should stand up and face your problem. On a more personal note, this book helps me to gain some insight, as it has some parallel to my stepdaughter's life, who lost her mum through cancer.
I applaud Patrick Ness' skill in weaving the real life and the dreams in a haunting story. Apparently he build the story from an idea of Siobhan Dowd, another writer of young adult book, who died of cancer before she managed to write this idea into a book. Would Siobhan approve this book? I don't know, but I know that I can give this book four fat stars for its outstanding story telling.
Conor had nightmares. Two different nightmares, actually. One was really scary, that he can't talk about it, while the other one was plain weird. Weird because there's a monster in it, who is not really scary, but also because it's never clear whether the monster was
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only in his dream or whether it's real.A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness is a book for teenagers, or young adults, in modern terms. It's one of the books my 11 year old stepdaughter's school asked her to read during the holiday. I read it because I was curious about what kind of books teenagers read these days. I was very surprised. I certainly did not read this kind of books when I was her age! Not that it's a too grown up book. The main character is a 13 year old boy, with normal teenage problems - like being bullied and trying to belong. But Conor O'Malley also had a bigger problem in life - his mum, the only person he lived with, had cancer and was struggling with the treatment. This heart-wrenching description of someone fighting cancer is not the only thing that makes the book feels so dark. It's all those nightmares too! I was surprised that teenagers these days read this kind of dark theme. But then again kids these days read Harry Potter, which has a very very dark atmosphere and is full of tragedies.
And that's one of the things that makes this book a powerful read. You develop a strong feeling for Conor and identify with him, you wondered with Conor about the monster and what purpose it served in his life. And you can feel your heartbeat anticipating how the story would end.
I'm not embarrased to say that I was captivated by this young adult book. Afterall, the Harry Potter series is one of my favourite books. I am glad that my stepdaughter gets to know this book. It's a good coming-of-age book, it shows how you should stand up and face your problem. On a more personal note, this book helps me to gain some insight, as it has some parallel to my stepdaughter's life, who lost her mum through cancer.
I applaud Patrick Ness' skill in weaving the real life and the dreams in a haunting story. Apparently he build the story from an idea of Siobhan Dowd, another writer of young adult book, who died of cancer before she managed to write this idea into a book. Would Siobhan approve this book? I don't know, but I know that I can give this book four fat stars for its outstanding story telling.
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LibraryThing member nbmars
This is a small book with a big impact. In some ways, you might call it the dark and more grown-up version of Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. In Sendak’s book, Max is a very little boy who goes on a wild rampage, and his mother sends him to bed without supper. In the night, Max
Ness's book about Conor, a boy of 13, is appropriately more sophisticated, albeit similar in theme. Conor also communicates with a monster at night. In Conor’s case, the monster helps him overcome his fear and pain and ambivalence regarding his mother’s terminal cancer. In both books, the monstrous impulses within us are reified in a way that accords them full respect for the roles they play in our lives. In both books as well, these contradictory impulses are identified as natural. Critically, they are not depicted as making us unlovable, or something to feel guilty about, but rather, as just part of being human.
Conor's monster insists on telling him three stories, and demands that Conor tell him one in return when he is done. All of the monster’s stories are similar in that they have unexpected outcomes, and help demonstrate that nothing is ever black and white. (Appropriately, the memorable illustrations for the book, drawn by Jim Kay, are done not only in shades of black and white, but also gray.) The monster demands that the fourth story, the story from Conor, be the truth:
"'You know that your truth, the one that you hide, Conor O’Malley, is the thing you are most afraid of. … You will tell me the fourth tale. You will tell me the truth.’
‘And what if I don’t?’ Conor said.
‘The monster gave the evil grin again. ‘Then I will eat you alive.’”
[As a metaphor, truer words were never spoken!]
Conor hates the fact that, as his father points out, “Stories don’t always have happy endings. … Stories were wild, wild animals and went off in directions you couldn’t expect.”
But Conor's mother's deteriorating health, and Conor's monster's persistence, give him no choice. He finally has to face up to the story he needs to tell in order that it not eat him alive, as the monster predicted it would.
Evaluation: Patrick Ness, like Conor, tells a story that doesn’t end in a fairytale fashion, but instead gives us something true. When someone we love dies or is dying, there are so many conflicting emotions. We may feel awful just for not always being sad, or feel selfish and thus contemptible for wanting the pain to be over with for us. Conor has to accept that this is the truth about loss; only then can he start to heal, without destroying himself in the process.
Note: When novelist Siobhan Dowd died of cancer at age 47 in 2007, she left four finished books and an idea for a fifth. Patrick Ness was commissioned to write a book from the idea for the fifth. The result is a tribute to her in several ways.
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visits with monsters, who help him regain a sense of potency and heal emotionally so he can stop being angry at his mother. Ness's book about Conor, a boy of 13, is appropriately more sophisticated, albeit similar in theme. Conor also communicates with a monster at night. In Conor’s case, the monster helps him overcome his fear and pain and ambivalence regarding his mother’s terminal cancer. In both books, the monstrous impulses within us are reified in a way that accords them full respect for the roles they play in our lives. In both books as well, these contradictory impulses are identified as natural. Critically, they are not depicted as making us unlovable, or something to feel guilty about, but rather, as just part of being human.
Conor's monster insists on telling him three stories, and demands that Conor tell him one in return when he is done. All of the monster’s stories are similar in that they have unexpected outcomes, and help demonstrate that nothing is ever black and white. (Appropriately, the memorable illustrations for the book, drawn by Jim Kay, are done not only in shades of black and white, but also gray.) The monster demands that the fourth story, the story from Conor, be the truth:
"'You know that your truth, the one that you hide, Conor O’Malley, is the thing you are most afraid of. … You will tell me the fourth tale. You will tell me the truth.’
‘And what if I don’t?’ Conor said.
‘The monster gave the evil grin again. ‘Then I will eat you alive.’”
[As a metaphor, truer words were never spoken!]
Conor hates the fact that, as his father points out, “Stories don’t always have happy endings. … Stories were wild, wild animals and went off in directions you couldn’t expect.”
But Conor's mother's deteriorating health, and Conor's monster's persistence, give him no choice. He finally has to face up to the story he needs to tell in order that it not eat him alive, as the monster predicted it would.
Evaluation: Patrick Ness, like Conor, tells a story that doesn’t end in a fairytale fashion, but instead gives us something true. When someone we love dies or is dying, there are so many conflicting emotions. We may feel awful just for not always being sad, or feel selfish and thus contemptible for wanting the pain to be over with for us. Conor has to accept that this is the truth about loss; only then can he start to heal, without destroying himself in the process.
Note: When novelist Siobhan Dowd died of cancer at age 47 in 2007, she left four finished books and an idea for a fifth. Patrick Ness was commissioned to write a book from the idea for the fifth. The result is a tribute to her in several ways.
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LibraryThing member 4Sherilyn
The cover of "A Monster Calls" might make a person think it belongs in the horror genre but it's far from it. Keep your tissues handy as you read this book but by all means read it. A young boy's mother is dying from cancer and he calls on an ancient power to save her. The "help" he receives is a
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bit like the ripping off of a band-aid, so painful but necessary. I don't want to say too much because the moment the boy learns the Monster's true purpose was one of my favorite parts of the book. I discovered it as he did and felt it's power. Some books you read and truly feel the magic. This was one of those. Show Less
LibraryThing member allureofbooks
In an awesome interview, Patrick Ness said the following about A Monster Calls:
"I think the novel is about loss, yes, but also about the fear of loss, which is universal, I think. Everyone knows what it's like to lie in bed late at night worrying about if the worst ever happened. Loss, I think, we
You guys, this novel is scary. Not in the way that you want to sleep with the light on and every slight noise makes you jump - the kind of scared where you want to call your parents and ask them how they are and tell them you love them. The kind that makes you wonder when something bad is going to happen. This book will bring you face-to-face with the reality of life, and life is going to bring you to your knees.
I don't think I can summon the words to explain the ride this book took me on. When I finished it, I set it down and literally sobbed. So emotionally engaging - I promise you it is absolutely impossible to remain impervious.
Conor wakes up at night to find that the tree in his yard is looking at him through his bedroom window. That, however, is far from the scariest thing Conor has faced. How can he be scared of a monster that he isn't even sure actually exists when he is already faced with something even more frightening - reality? This novel is brilliantly written and executed, and becomes a great deal more than the sum of its parts. It isn't just Conor's story you'll be reading - it becomes something universal. You'll realize, quite early on, that you've become the story.
The book actually says it quite well:
"Stories are wild creatures, the monster said. When you let them loose, who knows what havoc they might wreak?"
So, pick up this story and let it loose. I promise you that this book has to be read. It isn't an easy story to experience, but it is a phenomenal one.
"I think the novel is about loss, yes, but also about the fear of loss, which is universal, I think. Everyone knows what it's like to lie in bed late at night worrying about if the worst ever happened. Loss, I think, we
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can handle better than the worry that leads up to it, which can kill us. That's what I was really interested in exploring."You guys, this novel is scary. Not in the way that you want to sleep with the light on and every slight noise makes you jump - the kind of scared where you want to call your parents and ask them how they are and tell them you love them. The kind that makes you wonder when something bad is going to happen. This book will bring you face-to-face with the reality of life, and life is going to bring you to your knees.
I don't think I can summon the words to explain the ride this book took me on. When I finished it, I set it down and literally sobbed. So emotionally engaging - I promise you it is absolutely impossible to remain impervious.
Conor wakes up at night to find that the tree in his yard is looking at him through his bedroom window. That, however, is far from the scariest thing Conor has faced. How can he be scared of a monster that he isn't even sure actually exists when he is already faced with something even more frightening - reality? This novel is brilliantly written and executed, and becomes a great deal more than the sum of its parts. It isn't just Conor's story you'll be reading - it becomes something universal. You'll realize, quite early on, that you've become the story.
The book actually says it quite well:
"Stories are wild creatures, the monster said. When you let them loose, who knows what havoc they might wreak?"
So, pick up this story and let it loose. I promise you that this book has to be read. It isn't an easy story to experience, but it is a phenomenal one.
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LibraryThing member wortklauberlein
Mentioned as a contender for the Newbery, so I added it to my reading stacks. As the library return date loomed with the book unopened, I was transfering it to the take-back stack when I flipped it open. Pictures! Intrigued and thinking it would be a quick read, I moved it back to the sofa stack.
While somewhat predictable the plot has psychological/supernatural elements, a sympathetic main character and enough humor to temper the overwhelming sorrow at the base of it.
Young Conor's mother has cancer and it's getting worse. She and her mother try to tell him that he will have to move to his grandmother's house, but that only triggers the anger and self-hatred he's been bottling up. Those emotions take on the form of the Monster, a gnarly, spiky yew tree that says it walks the earth when it has been called and can heal what can be healed.
As Conor sinks deeper into self-loathing, inviting the school bully to harass him and driving away his true friend, the Monster begins the first of three tales that examine the ambivalence of good and evil. The interaction between Monster and boy during these tales is exquisitely funny.
A fairy tale, sniffs Conor, who doubts his neighborhood was once the kingdom of the yew Monster's tale. "We don't even have a McDonald's."
And when the Monster says the prince had fallen in love, Conor grumbles: "I knew it... These kinds of stories always have stupid princes falling in love..."
Conor sums up the heart of the book himself: "How do you fight all the different stuff inside?" He understands that the monster is within; the monster is yew.
As for those pictures that made me dive into the book, I'd like to know more about the technique, which looks like a form of etching. All the book notes is that artist Jim Kay used "everything from beetles to breadboards to create interesting marks and textures."
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Once begun, the book is hard to put down.While somewhat predictable the plot has psychological/supernatural elements, a sympathetic main character and enough humor to temper the overwhelming sorrow at the base of it.
Young Conor's mother has cancer and it's getting worse. She and her mother try to tell him that he will have to move to his grandmother's house, but that only triggers the anger and self-hatred he's been bottling up. Those emotions take on the form of the Monster, a gnarly, spiky yew tree that says it walks the earth when it has been called and can heal what can be healed.
As Conor sinks deeper into self-loathing, inviting the school bully to harass him and driving away his true friend, the Monster begins the first of three tales that examine the ambivalence of good and evil. The interaction between Monster and boy during these tales is exquisitely funny.
A fairy tale, sniffs Conor, who doubts his neighborhood was once the kingdom of the yew Monster's tale. "We don't even have a McDonald's."
And when the Monster says the prince had fallen in love, Conor grumbles: "I knew it... These kinds of stories always have stupid princes falling in love..."
Conor sums up the heart of the book himself: "How do you fight all the different stuff inside?" He understands that the monster is within; the monster is yew.
As for those pictures that made me dive into the book, I'd like to know more about the technique, which looks like a form of etching. All the book notes is that artist Jim Kay used "everything from beetles to breadboards to create interesting marks and textures."
Show Less
LibraryThing member bookworm12
A 13-year-old boy, Conor, lives alone with his mother and is trying to come to terms with her battle with cancer. One night a monster comes to his window. What follows is an eye-opening experience, for both the boy and the reader as the monster tells three tales and tries to explain their meanings.
Everyone was right about this one, it’s just beautiful. It feels so intimate and honest. For me the story of losing your mom to cancer as a tender teen is one that still opens a deep wound in my heart. It is a sensitive spot for me and invokes a visceral pain that never quite heals over. As I read this I was 13 all over again, seeing my mom's bald head for the first time, freshly bare from another round of chemo.
The book reminded me quite a bit of “The Book of Lost Things.” It’s a grown-up fairy tale in some ways. I loved the character of the Monster. He’s sort of a condescending, grumpy old man, saying things like, “You thought I walked across time to teach you about niceness?” Yet at the same time he manages to show Conor an understanding that he deeply needs.
I can't even describe how beautiful the illustrations are. They are just captivating; filled with dark shadows and twisting vines, a combination of both beauty and fear. They reminded me a little bit of the illustrated section in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.
If you haven’t read this one yet, I hope you’ll pick it up soon. It’s a powerful reminder that life is often not fair and the world holds much worse things than monsters. It looks at those dark truths and yet somehow provides some comfort in the midst of the sorrow.
"Villages grew into towns, towns into cities. And people began to live on the earth rather than within it."
“Stories were wild, wild animals and went off in directions you couldn't expect.”
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Everyone was right about this one, it’s just beautiful. It feels so intimate and honest. For me the story of losing your mom to cancer as a tender teen is one that still opens a deep wound in my heart. It is a sensitive spot for me and invokes a visceral pain that never quite heals over. As I read this I was 13 all over again, seeing my mom's bald head for the first time, freshly bare from another round of chemo.
The book reminded me quite a bit of “The Book of Lost Things.” It’s a grown-up fairy tale in some ways. I loved the character of the Monster. He’s sort of a condescending, grumpy old man, saying things like, “You thought I walked across time to teach you about niceness?” Yet at the same time he manages to show Conor an understanding that he deeply needs.
I can't even describe how beautiful the illustrations are. They are just captivating; filled with dark shadows and twisting vines, a combination of both beauty and fear. They reminded me a little bit of the illustrated section in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.
If you haven’t read this one yet, I hope you’ll pick it up soon. It’s a powerful reminder that life is often not fair and the world holds much worse things than monsters. It looks at those dark truths and yet somehow provides some comfort in the midst of the sorrow.
"Villages grew into towns, towns into cities. And people began to live on the earth rather than within it."
“Stories were wild, wild animals and went off in directions you couldn't expect.”
Show Less
LibraryThing member rwagner2
A Monster Calls is one of those rare young adult novels that accurately and effortlessly portrays adolescent emotional states with the same intensity and understanding that translates well from adult comprehension to adolescent endurance. Paired with powerful and dark imagery, Ness's narrative
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takes readers through the difficult but necessary journey of the grieving process in guise of a young boy's struggle to understand the inevitable loss of his mother, the turbulent angst and sadness he withholds, and how passive and unpredictable the world can be during the course of the Monster's three tales. These cleverly crafted stories express a worldly understanding that in the reality of our lives, there are no hero or villain, good or bad, only the grey area of circumstance and situation, all for the sake of better understanding that sickness and death are of these natural designs that compose and frame the human experience. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stormydawnc
This book made me cry in the middle of the public library. I hate crying in public, almost more than anything else, but at the same time, I couldn't bear to put the book down and move somewhere else. And for that, I both hate and love it. But mostly love.
Full review to come.
Full review to come.
LibraryThing member AMQS
Oh, what a sweet ache this book was. I listened to the audio, which was superbly narrated by Jason Isaacs, but I also got the book from the library so I could see the atmospheric, dreamlike (read: nightmare-like) illustrations. 13 year-old Conor is visited by a monster in the form of the giant yew
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tree in the adjacent church yard. Conor is not impressed: in his secret nightmare he is visited by a monster far worse, and actually in his real life there are monsters: his mum suffering grueling rounds of treatment for cancer, his dad off in America with his new family and contacting Conor less and less frequently, the kids at school so uncomfortable with what he is going through that they avoid him to the point of invisibility, and the bully who sees him well enough. The yew-tree monster tells Conor three stories, and demands a fourth -- the story of his nightmare -- from him. What follows is a transformative, searing journey through grief and rage, bitterness, guilt, and acceptance. Jason Isaacs (of Harry Potter fame) admits in an interview with the author that he just about bawled his eyes out when first reading the book. I did likewise, arriving at my new school a gasping, puffy-eyed mess two days in a row, but it was worth it. The book, I think, is intended for teens, and I hope many read it. Show Less
LibraryThing member seekingflight
This reminded me, in a way, of The Book of Lost Things. It paints a moving picture of 12 year old Connor, whose mother is ill with cancer. One night, a monster comes to Connor's window, offering or threatening to tell him three stories, after which, he says, Connor will tell his own truth. It’s a
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good, solid, sad book, with an interesting message about life’s ambiguity – and how the things we think can simultaneously be true and yet not true, or at least not the whole truth. And yet it didn’t make as much of an impression as I had been anticipating. Show Less
LibraryThing member jimrgill
Beautifully written and hauntingly illustrated, Ness’ novel tells the story of Conor, a young boy who suffers from a recurring nightmare about his mother, who is ill with cancer. Practically friendless—save for a girl named Lily, whom Conor seems to shun—and bullied in school, Conor copes
A narrative about the truth and knowledge contained within stories and their inherent ability to empower us, Ness’ novel tackles the experience of youthful trauma with sensitivity, poignancy, and grace. It’s the first of his novels that I’ve read, but it certainly will not be the last.
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with his loneliness and fear by calling on a monster who appears to him in the form of a yew tree. The monster—whose real purpose grows apparent as the novel progresses—tells Conor three stories in preparation for hearing Conor tell his own story.A narrative about the truth and knowledge contained within stories and their inherent ability to empower us, Ness’ novel tackles the experience of youthful trauma with sensitivity, poignancy, and grace. It’s the first of his novels that I’ve read, but it certainly will not be the last.
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LibraryThing member villemezbrown
I saw the movie when it came out in theaters three years ago and liked it well enough to probably rate it three stars. But I kept wondering if I should have read the book first, and now I know I should have.
Even knowing how the story goes, I found myself swept up into the grief and rage of the
I'm tempted to watch the movie again . . .
Even knowing how the story goes, I found myself swept up into the grief and rage of the
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characters so much more effectively by the words and illustration here than by all the lavish CGI in the film. I did keep Liam Neeson's voice in my head for all the monster's lines though.I'm tempted to watch the movie again . . .
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LibraryThing member jmchshannon
For a beautifully written novel about grief and learning to let go, one need look no further than Patrick Ness' A Monster Calls. Deliciously creepy, Ness calls to mind every nightmare anyone has ever had. Conor's struggle to accept the inevitable is every bit as poignant as one might imagine. Ness
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captures perfectly a not-so-little boy's anxiety over his mother's failing health and fervent attempts to avoid the truth. Readers should expect to cross the gamut of emotion, from fear to grief and back again. It truly is as good as everyone has been saying. Show Less